---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think I would have been a good…"
description: "\"I don't think I would have been a good architect. Really, I have thought about this from time to time, and I might have wound up like my father, who ne..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/donald-e-westlake-4285_architect_i-don-t-think-i-would-have-been-a-good-a_802340.jpg"
---

#  I don't think I would have been a good architect. Really…

![“I don't think I would have been a good architect. Really, I have thought about this from time to time, and I might have wound up like my father, who never did find that which he could devote his life to. He sort of drifted from job to job. He was a traveling salesman, he was a bookkeeper, he was…” quote by Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/donald-e-westlake-4285_architect_i-don-t-think-i-would-have-been-a-good-a_802340.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/donald-e-westlake-4285_architect_i-don-t-think-i-would-have-been-a-good-a_802340.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/donald-e-westlake-4285_architect_i-don-t-think-i-would-have-been-a-good-a_802340.jpg)

> “I don't think I would have been a good architect. Really, I have thought about this from time to time, and I might have wound up like my father, who never did find that which he could devote his life to. He sort of drifted from job to job. He was a traveling salesman, he was a bookkeeper, he was an office manager, he was here, there, there. And however enthusiastic he was at the beginning, his job would bore him. If I hadn't had the writing, I think I might have replicated what he was doing, which would not have been good.”

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Reflects on fear of repeating a parent's unfocused career path and the importance of finding personal passion.

**In simple terms:** Avoid drifting like a parent.

Key Takeaway

Pursue your own purpose.

Themes

career identity self‑discovery

Mood

introspective thoughtful

Type

motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

- career counseling
- mentorship programs
- creative workshops

Key Concepts

existentialism personal fulfillment

Questions to Reflect On

- What defines your true calling?
- How can you test a passion before committing?

A Different Perspective

May ignore practical constraints.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Architect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architect/) [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Enthusiastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enthusiastic/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Salesman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salesman/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [If architects weren't arrogant, they wouldn't be architects. I don't know a modest good architect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/if-architects-weren-t-arrogant-they-wouldn-t-be-architects-i-don-t/)

[Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/)

> [People either fall into two camps, where they're pro-fanfic, or they're anti-fanfic. I would not have had the skills to write and publish my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-liu/people-either-fall-into-two-camps-where-they-re-pro-fanfic-or-they-re/)

[Marjorie Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-liu/)

> [The architect who really designs for a human being has to know a great deal more than just the Five Canons of Vitruvius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-neutra/the-architect-who-really-designs-for-a-human-being-has-to-know-a/)

[Richard Neutra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-neutra/)

> [ Any small business owner wears many hats. We \[New View Window Cleaning\] are the salesman, bookkeeper, scheduler, cleaner, customer complaint department, etc. If you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-evans/any-small-business-owner-wears-many-hats-we-new-view-window-cleaning/)

[Tony Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-evans/)

> [To get a traveling salesman drunk is the height of impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/to-get-a-traveling-salesman-drunk-is-the-height-of-impossibility/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [I had an acting teacher tell me once that if you're playing a car salesman, you don't want to be an OK car salesman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-tveit/i-had-an-acting-teacher-tell-me-once-that-if-you-re-playing-a-car/)

[Aaron Tveit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-tveit/)

> [From 1965 to 1974, I served the best possible apprenticeship for an actor. I learned firsthand how a truck driver lives, what a bartender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-dennehy/from-1965-to-1974-i-served-the-best-possible-apprenticeship-for-an/)

[Brian Dennehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-dennehy/)

> [ The classes of problems which are respectively known and not known to have good algorithms are of great theoretical interest. \[...\] I conjecture that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-edmonds/the-classes-of-problems-which-are-respectively-known-and-not-known-to/)

[Jack Edmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-edmonds/)

> [“If you’re subjected to enough great salesmen and salespitches and marketing concepts for long enough—like from your earliest Saturday-morning cartoons, let’s say—it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-re-subjected-to-enough-great-salesmen-and-salespitches-and/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [But the fascinating and unbelievable-but-true thing about Dr. Jefferson Jeffersonis that he was not a doctor of any kind. He was just an orange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/but-the-fascinating-and-unbelievable-but-true-thing-about-dr/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [Jobs' incredible skill was as a storyteller, a salesman. He could captivate our imaginations and reel us in. He was more P.T. Barnum than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/jobs-incredible-skill-was-as-a-storyteller-a-salesman-he-could/)

[Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/)

> [As more Americans meet Mitt Romney, I think they'll see beyond the handsome exterior and see not just a good salesman, but a thoughtful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-jean-lopez/as-more-americans-meet-mitt-romney-i-think-they-ll-see-beyond-the/)

Kathryn Jean Lopez

> [We have this perceived illusion of what the fashion designer does. As an industry, we make it out that this one individual changes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-anderson/we-have-this-perceived-illusion-of-what-the-fashion-designer-does-as/)

[Jonathan Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-anderson/)

> [So the poet, who wants to be something that he cannot be, and is a failure in plain life, makes up fictitious versions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-tate/so-the-poet-who-wants-to-be-something-that-he-cannot-be-and-is-a/)

[Allen Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-tate/)

> [“Salesmanship is usually the art of making it the prospect’s problem, the salesperson’s need or desire to earn money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/salesmanship-is-usually-the-art-of-making-it-the-prospect-s-problem/)

[Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/)

## More by Donald E. Westlake

> [Science fiction is a weird category, because it's the only area of fiction I can think of where the story is not of primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/science-fiction-is-a-weird-category-because-it-s-the-only-area-of/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [The other thing that I got back then - the Parker novels have never had much of anything to do with race. There have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/the-other-thing-that-i-got-back-then-the-parker-novels-have-never-had/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [I was writing everything. I grew up in Albany, New York, and I was never any farther west than Syracuse, and I wrote Westerns.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/i-was-writing-everything-i-grew-up-in-albany-new-york-and-i-was-never/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [New York doesn't exactly have neighborhoods, the way most cities do. What it has is closer to distinct and separate villages, some of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/new-york-doesn-t-exactly-have-neighborhoods-the-way-most-cities-do/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [“In the cab going downtown, Doug believed he now understood the sensations felt by a person slowly sinking into the grasp of an octopus.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/in-the-cab-going-downtown-doug-believed-he-now-understood-the/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [What did Jesus Christ say to the Teamsters? 'Do nothing till I get back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/what-did-jesus-christ-say-to-the-teamsters-do-nothing-till-i-get-back/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [“Since he’d been born rich into a family that had been a long time rich, he’d never known the need to suppress his feelings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/since-he-d-been-born-rich-into-a-family-that-had-been-a-long-time/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [“Well, you might not think it to look at me,” Dortmunder told him, “but I got a family crest.” “Have you?” “Yeah. And it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/well-you-might-not-think-it-to-look-at-me-dortmunder-told-him-but-i/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [“telling the jokes—was the setups. Why were that priest, that rabbi, and that minister walking down that street? Where were they headed? How had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/telling-the-jokes-was-the-setups-why-were-that-priest-that-rabbi-and/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [“Dortmunder followed Kelp as he carried the tray down along the bar past the regulars, where the third was now saying, “The idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/dortmunder-followed-kelp-as-he-carried-the-tray-down-along-the-bar/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [Nothing about it interested me. Or about anything else, except making up stories. If literacy weren't so nearly universal, God knows what I'd be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/nothing-about-it-interested-me-or-about-anything-else-except-making/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [When Stark isn't off sulking somewhere, or whatever he's doing when he won't return my calls, I alternate between the two. That usually works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/when-stark-isn-t-off-sulking-somewhere-or-whatever-he-s-doing-when-he/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [“There are no Territories to light out for, not in this century. It was no longer easy to become the new you. New or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/there-are-no-territories-to-light-out-for-not-in-this-century-it-was/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [“wish you would.” “Right. When I had the emerald again, I was in a cell. I guess they were afraid the rest of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/wish-you-would-right-when-i-had-the-emerald-again-i-was-in-a-cell-i/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

> [Seem to be telling this, but really telling that. Three-dimensional writing, like three-dimensional chess. Nabokov was the other master of that. You could learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/seem-to-be-telling-this-but-really-telling-that-three-dimensional/)

[Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

[Explore all 113 Donald E. Westlake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/)

## More Architect quotes

> [When I am asked what I believe in, I say that I believe in architecture. Architecture is the mother of the arts. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meier/when-i-am-asked-what-i-believe-in-i-say-that-i-believe-in/)

[Richard Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meier/)

> [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/)

[Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/)

> [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/)

[Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/)

> [When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-it-comes-to-getting-things-done-we-need-fewer-architects-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Architects mostly work for privileged people, people who have money and power, Power and money are invisible, so people hire us to visualize their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shigeru-ban/architects-mostly-work-for-privileged-people-people-who-have-money/)

[Shigeru Ban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shigeru-ban/)

> [I was the chairman of the Budget Committee and the lead architect the last time it happened in Washington, and when we did it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/i-was-the-chairman-of-the-budget-committee-and-the-lead-architect-the/)

[John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/)

> [The architect is very interesting because the architect is the commander, meaning the one who commands all the workers. The architect is also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-architect-is-very-interesting-because-the-architect-is-the/)

[Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/)

> [The pursuit of peace resembles the building of a great cathedral. It is the work of a generation. In concept it requires a mater-architect;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/the-pursuit-of-peace-resembles-the-building-of-a-great-cathedral-it/)

[Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/)

> [Yes, Garnett Grey was an Architect. Were a psychoanalyst to approach him from behind, tap his shoulder, and say 'Humanity,' Garrett'd spin and respond,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-kidd/yes-garnett-grey-was-an-architect-were-a-psychoanalyst-to-approach/)

[Chip Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-kidd/)

> [The challenge of today's generation of architects is the environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-ross-barney/the-challenge-of-today-s-generation-of-architects-is-the-environment/)

[Carol Ross Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-ross-barney/)

> [I stand on this rostrum with a sense of deep humility and great pride - humility in the weight of those great American architects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-stand-on-this-rostrum-with-a-sense-of-deep-humility-and-great-pride/)

[Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/)

> [Architects in the past have tended to concentrate their attention on the building as a static object. I believe dynamics are more important: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/architects-in-the-past-have-tended-to-concentrate-their-attention-on/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I was the chairman of the House Budget Committee and one of the chief architects the last time we balanced a budget, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/i-was-the-chairman-of-the-house-budget-committee-and-one-of-the-chief/)

[John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/)

> [No matter what an architect may be at home, he becomes a monumentalist when he comes to Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/no-matter-what-an-architect-may-be-at-home-he-becomes-a-monumentalist/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [As an architect you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-foster/as-an-architect-you-design-for-the-present-with-an-awareness-of-the/)

[Norman Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-foster/)

[Browse all 836 Architect quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architect/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I don't think I would have been a good architect. Really, I have thought about this from time to time, and I might have wound up like my father, who never did find that which he could devote his life to. He sort of drifted from job to job. He was a traveling salesman, he was a bookkeeper, he was an office manager, he was here, there, there. And however enthusiastic he was at the beginning, his job would bore him. If I hadn't had the writing, I think I might have replicated what he was doing, which would not have been good.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Donald E. Westlake"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/i-don-t-think-i-would-have-been-a-good-architect-really-i-have/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Architect"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/i-don-t-think-i-would-have-been-a-good-architect-really-i-have/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/donald-e-westlake-4285_architect_i-don-t-think-i-would-have-been-a-good-a_802340.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/donald-e-westlake-4285_architect_i-don-t-think-i-would-have-been-a-good-a_802340.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/donald-e-westlake-4285_architect_i-don-t-think-i-would-have-been-a-good-a_802340.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I don't think I would have been a good architect. Really, I have thought about this from time to time, and I…” — Donald E. Westlake",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Donald E. Westlake",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I don't think I would have...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/i-don-t-think-i-would-have-been-a-good-architect-really-i-have/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/i-don-t-think-i-would-have-been-a-good-architect-really-i-have/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
